


Did It Hurt When You Fell From Heaven? (And other dumb questions)

by Brighid_the_Beta



Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angels, Demons, Dragons, M/M, Magic, Monsters, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-24 04:52:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17697995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brighid_the_Beta/pseuds/Brighid_the_Beta
Summary: Bucky is enchanted by the mysterious Steve, a non-human he meets at a bar. He can't get a read on him with all the protective magic surrounding him, but his beautiful blue eyes are worth chasing.





	1. Chapter 1

There weren’t many times James “Bucky” Barnes regretted using a chunk of his inhumanely long life to get a PhD in stem cell research, but as he was stuck in his hundredth argument with Tony Stark since they’d been forced to collaborate a month ago, Bucky felt the stirrings of regret that usually follow terrible life choices.

“Tony—” He said, interrupting the rapid-fire techno-babble Stark was spewing in defense of his design for their project: a fully integrated prothesis. “Tony, I understand your point of view, and I agree that a metal arm would look badass, but the patient wants it to look as subtle as possible.”

Tony crossed his arms and pouted. “Barnes, JB, who wouldn’t want to brag about having a piece of awesome tech attached to them!”

Bucky sighed. Tony’s dragon instincts made it hard for him to part with the chance to make his designs as flashy as possible. It could be as endearing as it was annoying. Unfortunately, today it was firmly in the annoying camp. “Tony, I’m not arguing with you about this anymore. This is _his_ arm.” He checked his phone for the time, and blew out another frustrated breath. “And…I’m going to be late to meet Nat. Again. Just, design the arm the way Jones wants it, and maybe the next person will want a full-on robot arm.”

“Fine. But I’m holding you to that!” Tony called after him as he headed towards the elevator out of the lab.

“Yeah, Yeah,” Bucky called back.

Luckily, his trip to Monroe’s bar was short, and he slid into the seat next to Natasha, his long time friend, with an apology on his lips.

“Hey Nat, sorry I’m late, you know how Tony is.”

She waved him off, smirking. “No worries, I just figured you were resolving some of that sexual tension.”

“Oh, fuck off, you know it’s not like that.”

“Mmnhmmn.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. Natasha, while ancient and terrifyingly powerful, could also be a little shit once you knew her. She loved to tease Bucky whenever possible. “Whatever Nat.” He gestured to the bartender, and ordered a beer. Just because Natasha could drink her weight in vodka, didn’t mean he had to try to keep up.

They caught up for a few more minutes, laughing at Starks antics, and Natasha’s boyfriend’s latest antics, until she stood to use the restroom. “I’ll be right back, don’t get into trouble.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “I’ll try, mom.”

As she chuckled and headed off to the back of the bar, he let his gaze wander across the room. He was a fairly powerful demon, and it was easy for him to sense the mix of supernatural and mundane around him. It was times like these that he was glad he had access to blood banks and stem cell cultures, because though he didn’t have to feed as often anymore, it was far easier to do it clinically than from the source. He didn’t have to be “on” all the time to try to feed himself with blood or sex, and could instead relax with a beer and play hard to get with any potential prospects.

He spotted a slight blonde man at the other end of the bar, sitting alone and staring into his drink. Bucky spotted tattooed sigils on his forearms, shimmering in the dim bar light as the man’s lean fore arms flexed. The man looked up, and happened to make eye contact with Bucky. 400 years of seducing people hadn’t left James Barnes a shy demon, so he met the blonde man’s stare, smirking as a slight blush rose to the man’s cheeks. Bucky downed the last of his drink and went over to say hello.

“Hey there,” Bucky said smoothly as he slid into the seat next to the man. Now that he was closer to him, he was hoping to catch a whiff of whatever brand of supernatural he was, but all he could sense was a subtle cloak of magic wrapped around the man. Interest piqued even more, Bucky held out a hand as he introduced himself. “I’m Bucky.”

The slim man shook his blonde hair out of his face and smile shyly back as he shook his hand. “Hi, I’m Steve.”

“So, Steve, what’s a beautiful man like you doing in a place like this all alone?” Steve threw his head back and laughed.

“Wow,” he said, “that was quite the line. Not that original, though.”

“Why fix what ain’t broke?” Bucky said, grinning. Steve was even more gorgeous when he laughed, and Bucky didn’t care about making a fool of himself as long as he got to keep basking in this guy’s smile.

“How do you know it didn’t break just now?” Steve asked, smile turning sly as he leaned in closer.

“Well, you haven’t left yet, have you now?” Bucky’s voice was soft as he leaned in too, his nose almost brushing Steve’s cheek, their lips inches apart. Steve’s eyes flicked down to Bucky’s lips for a moment, his own mouth parting in anticipation.

“James.”

Steve jumped apart from Bucky with a squeak of embarrassment, now completely red. Bucky turned to glare at the person who ruined his chance to see how far that blush went down, and gritted out, “Hello, Natasha. Natasha, meet Steve. Steve, this is Natasha, a very dear pain in my ass.”

Natasha’s eyes twinkled with mirth. “Just wanted to let you know I’d be heading out. But it seems like you won’t have a problem finding company.”

Bucky let out a growl under his breath, but she just grinned at him. “It was nice meeting you, Steve,” She said, and he stammered out “Y-You as well,” before she turned and left.

Bucky turned to Steve with an apologetic smile on his face. “Sorry about her, she loves to give me shit. Where were we?”

Steve smiled back. “That’s alright, my friends are the same way. Assholes the lot of them. But, uhm, I should be getting home.” Bucky tried to hide his disappointment.

“Can I walk you home?”

“No, that’s okay, I can get home on my own.” Steve’s jaw was set, and he looked stubborn, like Bucky might try to argue with him.

“Hey, that’s cool,” Bucky said, hands raised in surrender. “I didn’t mean nothin’ by it. Can I get your number instead, then?”

Steve relaxed with a huff and nodded. Bucky handed him his phone, and Steve quickly added his number to the contacts list. “I guess I’ll see you around?” Steve asked.

“Definitely.” Bucky said. Steve stood from the stool, shrugged on his coat, and walked to the door. Before he left, he turned and gave Bucky a shy little wave. The way he bit his lip as he waved goodbye was something Bucky knew would feature heavily in his daydreams until he saw Steve again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve's backstory, and Sam being a bit of an asshole.

Whereas demons were meant to feed on the fulfillment of base desires, ergo blood and sex, angels were meant to feed on the denial of those desires: tears and sexual frustration. Unfortunately, not a lot of people were willing to give up those parts of themselves to creatures that, unlike demons, lacked the charm and magical sway to convince them it was a good idea. Add that to the fact that angels were extremely valuable when stripped down to parts, and there weren’t a whole lot of them around anymore. Those that had managed to survive, did so by disguising their nature.

Steve had been born to a witch, his father killed before he was born in a terrible betrayal. He let slip his true nature to the wrong person, believing them to be a friend, a brother in arms, and paid the ultimate price. Luckily, Sarah learned from her husband’s mistakes. Her magic was quietly powerful, and she birthed her son 6 months later alone, far from civilization, bearing the pain so she could protect her son from those who would seek to harm him.

He grew, sickly and weak due to the stress of the pregnancy, but beautiful all the same. Sarah taught him how to hide, taught him her magic, showed him how to weave enchantments in his own blood and tears, and fed him when the grief of a husband lost and a son doomed to hide forever grew too much to bear.

Eventually, when he was 10 years old, she deemed him ready to return to society. They moved to Brooklyn, where the diverse city could hopefully hide anything out of the ordinary. By the time Sarah died in his 19th year, Steve had found his calling in tattooed protection spells, and had finished his apprentice-ship. His spitfire righteousness and his kind soul had attracted a tight knit group of friends, who supported him as he grieved for his mother.

Eventually, Steve opened a joint Apothecary and tattoo parlor with Sam, an elf with an aptitude for plant-based magic and healing, and they became modestly successful. After all, the city was a dangerous place, and a permanent protection sigil or an incense to ward off rats was invaluable.

But the pensive look on Steve’s face as he sat alone at Monroe’s was not due to grief over his dearly departed mother, but grief of a more romantic nature. He had loved Peggy Carter, a beautiful siren with a smile as deadly as her song, since they met when he was 15. He had never acted on these feelings, because his mother’s warnings about letting anyone too close were always ringing in his ears. But even though he knew he had no chance, he was hard-pressed not to let her news of her engagement to a lovely water nymph named Angie get to him.

Perhaps it was this maudlin regret over what could have been that led him to allow himself to flirt with the attractive demon – _Bucky_ – that approached him. He usually was more cautious about letting strangers get so close to him, but something about this man made him want to throw caution to the wind. Thankfully, he wasn’t so far gone as to bring a stranger back to his apartment, but he did allow the demon to leave with his phone number.

Now, two days later, Steve was staring at the text he’d received last night as he sat heavily on the couch beside Sam. They were at Sam’s apartment, trying to “do something outside of work for once, Steve, why can you never relax?”

> **Unknown Number:** Hey Steve, it’s Bucky, from the other night. I was wondering if you wanted to get coffee some time? I know a great place.

“Hey, earth to Steve. Have you heard anything I’ve said?” Steve blinked up from his phone to see Sam staring exasperatedly at him. Steve grimaced.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m listening.” He locked his phone and slid it into his pocket. Sam didn’t seem impressed, giving Steve a look from where he sat next to him on the thrifted couch.

“Uh huh. What’s got you so distracted? Are you still moping about Peggy?”

Steve blushed. “No! I-I mean, okay, I was, a little, but,” He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Sam, even though he was his closest friend, didn’t know about Steve’s angelic nature. He didn’t understand why Steve hadn’t made a move on Peggy, and he wouldn’t understand Steve’s full predicament now, but Steve had practice venting around his real problems, and Sam was an excellent listener. “Alright. So, I met a guy a couple nights ago, and he texted me asking me on a date, but I’m not sure if I want to get to know him better or not.”

Sam gave him a look that said he thought he was being a dumbass. “Isn’t that what dates are for?”

“Well, yeah, but I don’t know him at all! A-and we only just met. He could be a serial killer!”

“Steve, I know you don’t have a lot of experience with this stuff, but if he’s asking you on a date in a public place, you’ll be fine. Plus, you’re like a walking fortress dude. If this guy can get past your shields, he might deserve to wear your skin, I’m just sayin’.”

Steve glared at Sam. Sam grinned back at him. “Okay okay, but seriously, what can one date hurt. Just go! It’ll be good for you. You’re 24 years old, Steve. It’s okay to go on a date with a cute guy.”

“Ugh, fine. Fine!” Steve pulled his phone out, and before he could think about it too much, shot a quick text back to Bucky.

> **Steve:** _Yeah, I’d like to get coffee with you, how’s Saturday?_
> 
> **Bucky:** Great! 1 pm at the Singing Teakettle?
> 
> **Steve:** _Sounds good, meet you there_

“See, was that so hard?” Sam said, looking smug.

Steve rolled his eyes. “Whatever, see if I’m sympathetic next time you want to renew your sigil against STDs.”

Sam gasped, mockingly pressing his hand against his chest. “Steven Grant! You wouldn’t dare.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “Watch me.”


	3. Chapter 3

Bucky flopped onto Natasha’s couch, and laid dramatically across her lap. “Naaaaaat,” he whined.

She ignored him. He raised a finger to poke her cheek, but froze as an aura of menace suddenly emanated from his friend. He lowered the finger with a huff, and the aura disappeared. “Fine, jesus, ignore an opportunity for blackmail material.”

She looked down at him, eyebrow raised, suddenly interested. Natasha was fae, Unseelie, and loved information that gave her power over another. Bucky smirked. “I’m going on a date with that guy Steve from the bar.”

She frowned. “I don’t know, James. I couldn’t get a read on him. And if his cloaking spells are powerful enough to obscure _my_ Sight, he could be into something you don’t want a part of.”

“You’re too paranoid, Natchenka. And I can take care of myself.” He bared his teeth, letting a flash of fang show. Bucky hadn’t always been a scientist content with taking his blood from a bag.

“Hmph. Alright.”

Bucky knew she would remain suspicious and would probably use her less savory contacts to investigate Steve anyway. She liked to pretend she didn’t care about anyone, but Fae took loyalty seriously, and the two of them had shed blood for each other.

****

Saturday arrived, and Bucky was sitting at a table in the coffee shop when Steve walked in. He looked just as beautiful as he had in the dim bar light, more so now that the sunlight filtering through the large glass windows caught his blonde hair and fair skin, making him shine like an angel. Bucky scoffed to himself. An angel, ha! He must’ve been spending too much time talking to his little sister, who loved those dumb romance novels about angels and demons. Everyone knew angels were extinct. They’d been hunted to death centuries ago, before the mundane and magical communities had come together and created agreements on hunting restrictions. It was the reason Bucky got to feed from blood banks, and why it was illegal for Natasha to use humans as slaves. Angels, believed to be extinct, weren’t included in the list of protected species, since they had no representative. Some conspiracy theorists (bigoted dickbags, in Bucky’s opinion) still thought there were angels hiding in plain sight, and devoted time and money to trying to capture one. It was said one feather from their wings could bring someone from the brink of death to full health in seconds. Bucky shook his head, before grinning up at Steve, who had taken the seat across from him.

“Hi,” Steve said shyly, smiling tentatively back at Bucky.

“Hey,” Bucky said. “I hope it wasn’t too bad of a journey over here. I figured since it’s somewhat near Monroe’s it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle.”

“Oh no, not at all!” Steve said, blushing a little. He was truly adorable, and his wards gave off a faint aroma of apple pie. How could someone so sweet be into anything nefarious? Natasha was being paranoid. “I work a few blocks from here, actually,” Steve continued.

A waiter came by and took their orders, coffee and an O positive smoothie for Bucky, tea and their soup of the day for Steve. Bucky asked about Steve’s job, and Steve was lit up as he described the business he and Sam had built.

“…And it’s just so amazing to be able to be a permanent part of someone, you know? I do mundane tattoos as well, and it’s flattering when someone lets you use their skin as a canvas.” Bucky nodded, entranced by the joy and passion Steve clearly had for his art and his work, gazing fondly at him as he gestured widely with long thin fingers that Bucky could imagine were _very_ good at slow, steady movements. He wanted to devour the man in front of him; he wanted to find out if he tasted as good as he smelled.

Bucky was brought out of his inappropriate reverie as his stomach rumbled. Embarrassed, he thanked every deity he could think of that their food arrived just then.

Steve paused his excited rambling to take a bite of his soup. “Mmmn,” he moaned, “I’ll have to come back here, this is delicious.” Bucky couldn’t help watching as a pink tongue swept out to catch a drop of soup from Steve’s bottom lip. His eyes flicked up to Steve’s to find him watching him, the corner of his mouth pulling up in a knowing smirk. Bucky swallowed. Maybe Steve wasn’t as sweet as he seemed.

* * *

 

Despite not having been in a relationship before, Steve wasn’t innocent. Sexual frustration was, in general, easier to feed off of than tears, though there were still limited options for surreptitious feeding. High schools were hot spots for sexual frustration, and his own time as a teenager had been the least hungry he’d ever been, but he couldn’t exactly hang around there now. His personal favorite feeding ground was BDSM clubs. All he had to do was pay a membership fee, and discretion and a good meal were guaranteed. So no, Steve wasn’t innocent, and he recognized the hungry look in Bucky’s eyes. What he wouldn’t give to tie him down and make him beg. But Steve reigned in the impulse. It was too soon, and Steve actually wanted to give this a chance. He had plenty of opportunities for sex elsewhere.

“I’ve been rambling on forever! What about you, what do you do for a living?” Steve asked, deliberately relaxing the tension that had formed between them.

Bucky replied, and regaled Steve with tales of his annoying coworker, and the two of them traded stories and laughs for two hours, until the waitress came with the check and an apologetic request to free up the table for other guests. The two of them were shocked they had been sitting there so long; they had been enjoying each other’s company so much the time had seemed to fly by, and gladly left the café to walk Steve back to his shop/apartment at Bucky’s suggestion.

They stopped at the door to Steve’s building. Steve paused with his hand on the door, then turned to Bucky. “I had a really good time today.”

“Me too,” Bucky said, stepping closer to Steve and sweeping his hair away from his face. He let his hand linger on Steve’s jaw as he murmered, “I’d really like to see you again.”

Steve let his eyes drift closed as he leant up towards Bucky, brushing a faint kiss across his mouth. He rested his forehead against Bucky’s as he whispered, “Me too, Buck.”

Bucky let out a shivery sigh and kissed Steve again, sliding the hand on his jaw into his hair. Steve let out a quiet moan and opened his mouth, letting Bucky deepen the kiss, before twining his arms around Bucky’s neck and taking control, licking into his mouth before catching his bottom lip between his teeth and slowly releasing it.

They were both breathing a little harder when they separated.

“Damn,” Bucky said, sounding a little shocked. Steve couldn’t help but agree, and he laughed a little, resting his forehead on Bucky’s shoulder.

“I really should get back to work,” He said reluctantly.

“Mmmmn,” Bucky hummed. “Yeah, I gotta make sure Tony isn’t sneaking into the lab on a weekend to tweak the designs. I’ll text you?” Steve looked up to see something hopeful in Bucky’s eyes that made his heart clench.

“Yeah, please do. I need to know exactly how much trouble he gets himself into,” Steve chuckled.

With one last lingering kiss, Bucky watched as Steve let himself into the building, the stood there for a few minutes, head resting against the door. _Oh Barnes,_ he thought. _What the hell have you gotten yourself into._


End file.
